Former Anthony Joshua rival scores shock win over huge puncher on Canelo vs Crawford undercard

Jermaine Franklin sent a stark reminder to the heavyweight division that he is a still a force to be reckoned with after scoring a points win over the previously unbeaten Ivan Dychko. 

The heavy-handed Kazakh has climbed up the rankings impressively in recent years, but his lack of activity against Franklin allowed the American to always stay that little bit in front meaning he was unable to close the deficit. 

Franklin has threatened to slip into opponent mode with some results on his record suggesting that he is the ideal man to face when returning from a setback or requiring a confidence boost. 

In 2022, Franklin travelled to England to face Dillian Whyte after the Brit had been knocked out by Tyson Fury a few months earlier. 

Franklin pushed Whyte all the way as his stock increased, but after 12 rounds, it was the home fighter who got the win after a closely fought battle . 

The reward for competing well against Whyte was a showdown with Anthony Joshua, who was aiming to rebuild after back-to-back losses against Oleksandr Usyk. Franklin performed well again, but he was once again beaten on the scorecards . 

Against Dychko, it was a different story as Franklin’s extra effort against a strangely laidback Dychko allowed him to emerge victorious with scores of 97-92, 96-93, and 95-94. 

The win, on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford, means Franklin’s win was watched by a big audience and it could lead to another huge fight, possibly against Moses Itauma, at the end of the year. 

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